Teacher strike closes West Bank schools

RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The teachers union undertook large scale strike action on Tuesday, forcing most schools in the West Bank to close for the day.

The union had announced Saturday that it would hold half-day strikes for two weeks, blaming the Palestinian Authority government for ignoring their salary demands.

Union head Muhammad Sowan had told Ma’an that school teachers would leave at 12 p.m. each day starting Sunday, and on Tuesdays teachers would not go into work at all.

The teachers are calling for fairer retirement plans, salaries in line with the general price-rises in the West Bank, and reform of the civil service law, the union explained.

School teachers last went on strike on Oct. 23, when they joined university lecturers and civil servants in a mass strike over the late and partial payment of public sector salaries, paralyzing the West Bank